A New Zealand Labour MP has spoken of her pride after becoming the first woman to wear a moko kauae, or traditional female Māori chin tattoo, in parliament.

“Moko is a statement of identity, like a passport,” Nanaia Mahuta, from the Waikato-Maniapoto tribe, told the Guardian. “I am at a time in my life where I am ready to make a clear statement that this is who I am, and this is my position in New Zealand.”

The move was well received. Metiria Turei, co-leader of the Green party, said: “I am really, really proud that she has done this in parliament. I think she has always been a leader for Māori women in parliament and a staunch advocate for Māori and she is leading the way yet again.”

Marama Fox, co-leader of the Maori party, said: “Apart from the fact that I find her moko kauae stunningly beautiful, it is an expression of her whakapapa [genealogy] and uniqueness.

Captain Cook statues defaced in NZ amid calls for Maori chiefs to take his place

Read more

“I’m proud as a Māori woman to sit alongside her in parliament restoring to our political landscape a symbolic gesture of rangatiratanga [self-determination] previously dissuaded during our colonial struggle to give vote to Māori women in their land of inheritance.”

Mahuta had the moko kauae inked over the weekend, alongside 13 other prominent Maori women.

They are usually bestowed on high-ranking Māori women as a reflection of their standing and mana, or power, in the community.

The group were also marking the 10-year reign of Māori king Tuheitia Paki, and grieving deceased relations.

Mahuta said the moko was both highly individual and also intrinsically linked to her tribe, whanau (family) and bonds to the rivers and mountains of New Zealand.

Huritau Muru, of Huntly, received a moko kauae alongside Mahuta on the weekend. She said it was a “joyful” occasion, and made a strong “spiritual impression” on her children and grandchildren, to see their elders carrying out an ancient Maori practice.

“I think bringing back the moko, we have opened the gate for our people to follow, it was a sign that our tribe is healthy and united,” she said.

She was taking her life story and our life story as well [to parliament].

Huritau Muru

“When Nanaia took her moko back to parliament for all too see, she was taking 13 other women with her, too. She was taking her life story and our life story as well. She was declaring herself a proud Maori woman – it was a very public statement.”

Mahuta, who has been an MP for 20 years, is also interested in breaking down the negative associations that facial moko have with gang membership in New Zealand.

“I think there is an emerging awareness about the revitalisation of Māori culture and that facial moko is a positive aspect of that. We need to move away from moko being linked to gangs, because that is not what moko represent at all.”

Mahuta said that since she was inked, the majority of responses had been positive and inquisitive – and sparked conversations about Māori culture and traditions in modern, multi-cultural New Zealand.

Traditionally women’s facial moko were confined to the chin area, while men’s could be across the whole face.

Although the prevalence of facial moko declined after European colonisation, since the late 20th century there has been a renaissance of facial moko as a means of reclaiming Māori identity and culture.